“Indeed, Allah has bought from the believers their selves and their wealth, that for them is Paradise. They fight in the way of Allah, so they kill and are killed. A true promise [binding] upon Him in the Torah, the Gospel and the Qur’an. So who is truer in his promise than Allah? So rejoice in your transaction which you have contracted. That is the great success.” [at-Tawbah, 9:111]
This is the only verse that The Most Glorified put jihad of the self in front of jihad with the wealth, in contrast to the rest of the verses, and that was to explain the greatness of the contract.
This contract is from the greatest and most profitable deals that the believer can make in his life. Allah سبحانه وتعالى is the buyer and the believer is the seller. As for the goods, they are the believer’s own self and wealth. Paradise is the price; a price which does not suit the goods, however it is from Allah’s kindness and favour.
Allah سبحانه وتعالى says:
إِنَّ اللّهَ اشْتَرَى مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَنفُسَهُمْ وَأَمْوَالَهُم بِأَنَّ لَهُمُ الجَنَّةَ يُقَاتِلُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللّهِ فَيَقْتُلُونَ وَيُقْتَلُونَ وَعْدًا عَلَيْهِ حَقًّا فِي التَّوْرَاةِ وَالإِنجِيلِ وَالْقُرْآنِ وَمَنْ أَوْفَى بِعَهْدِهِ مِنَ اللّهِ فَاسْتَبْشِرُواْ بِبَيْعِكُمُ الَّذِي بَايَعْتُم بِهِ وَذَلِكَ هُوَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ
“Indeed, Allah has bought from the believers their selves and their wealth, that for them is Paradise. They fight in the way of Allah, so they kill and are killed. A true promise [binding] upon Him in the Torah, the Gospel and the Qur’an. So who is truer in his promise than Allah? So rejoice in your transaction which you have contracted. That is the great success.” [at-Tawbah, 9:111]
This is the only verse that The Most Glorified put jihad of the self in front of jihad with the wealth, in contrast to the rest of the verses, and that was to explain the greatness of the contract.
This contract is from the greatest and most profitable deals that the believer can make in his life. Allah سبحانه وتعالى is the buyer and the believer is the seller. As for the goods, they are the believer’s own self and wealth. Paradise is the price; a price which does not suit the goods, however it is from Allah’s kindness and favour.
Al-Hassan al-Basri and Qatadah said: “Allah bought from them, and He appreciated their price”.
Look to Allah’s generosity. He is the creator of their self and their wealth and He is the owner of both. Except that he is generous to the believer, who does not own a thing, with this trade, by making him a party to it.
Ibn Abi Shaybah narrated that if al-Hassan read this verse: “Verily Allah has bought from the believers their selves and their wealth” would say “the selves are creation and the wealth is provision”
Al-Qurtabi said: “the basis of sale between mankind is that they exchange what comes out of their hands with what is most beneficial to them…Allah Most High bought from the worshippers the loss of themselves and their wealth in obedience to Him, and their destruction in seeking His pleasure. Then Allah Most Glorified gave them Paradise in exchange if they did that. It is a great compensation, the compensated is not indebted by it and no comparison can be made it. So what they know of buying and selling is used here as a metaphor; from the worshipper is his handing over of himself and his wealth, and from Allah is the reward and gift, so it is called buying.”
So this verse that came with this profitable trade, according to what al-Qurtabi mentioned, was revealed regarding the second pledge of allegiance, known as the larger bay’at ul-‘Aqabah. It was the one in which the men of al-Ansar were more than seventy, the youngest of them being ‘Aqbah bin Amru. They met with Allah’s Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم at ‘Aqabah, where ‘Abdullah bin Rawaha said to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم “Set whatever conditions you like on behalf of yourself and your Lord.” So the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: “I place the condition of my Lord that you worship Him and make nothing in partner with Him. I place the condition for myself that you protect me as you protect your own selves and your wealth.” They said: “If we did that, so what is for us?” He صلى الله عليه وسلم said “Paradise.” They said: “A profitable trade (Ribh ul-bay’)! We will not annul nor ask to be annulled.” So, the verse was sent down “Indeed, Allah has bought from the believers their selves and their wealth, that for them is Paradise”
The Ansaar, may Allah be pleased with them, took this deal and said: “A profitable trade (Ribh ul-bay’)! We will not annul nor ask to be annulled.” i.e. ‘we will not turn back on this contract’, then they got up to pledge allegiance on that to the Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم, knowing that they are not pledging allegiance on an simple matter; rather they were sure of great troubles in front of them, that all of the Arabs would go to war with them, and that they would not be greeted with a safe life during the battle with ignorance. However, they compared the luxuries of this life to those of Paradise, chose the latter and said: “A profitable trade (Ribh ul-bay’)! We will not annul nor ask to be annulled.”
Verily, it is Paradise that no one has wished for before, whoever he may be. Its luxuries are the real luxuries. Merely being denied it is the grievous torment. Our Prophet described it and its luxuries with eloquent words when he said: “In it is what no eye has seen, no ear has heard and what has never occurred to any heart of mankind.” Like this did the Messenger of Allah sum up Paradise for us; rather Paradises whose width are the heavens and the earth. So, all that eyes have seen of luxury, from Adam until Allah inherits the earth and whoever is on it, it is less than the luxuries of Paradise. The same can be said for what the ears have heard. Not only that; rather whatever the whole of creation has imagined with the wildest of imaginations and whatever their souls have desired from luxuries, it is less than the luxuries of Paradise that awaits the God-fearing.
Allah سبحانه وتعالى has told us that this promise that he promised to the mujahadeen in the way of Allah, and to the ones who stand up for His matter, is a firm promise established “in the Torah” as it was established in the Qur’an. Then He سبحانه وتعالى said “So who is truer in his promise than Allah?” as breaking promises is deplorable.
So the promise is Allah’s promise, He سبحانه وتعالى is the buyer and He is the one who promised the price, an old promise in all of His books: “A true promise [binding] upon Him in the Torah, the Gospel and the Qur’an.”
“So who is truer in his promise than Allah?” Truly, there is no one more fulfilling of his contract nor truer in his promise than Allah, as He سبحانه وتعالى is able to fulfil, and He سبحانه وتعالى is the truest of promisers and the most faithful of contractors.
His سبحانه وتعالى saying: “So rejoice in your transaction which you have contracted” is at the extremes of confirmation, as the glad tidings (bisharah) that gleams with its coming into existence, i.e. delight appears with it and the extremes of happiness are felt when you made a sale to end all sales.
“That is the great success.” i.e. victorious at getting the complete profit and exultation at the trade which putting aside sin and entering Paradise.
Translated from Al-Waie Magazine